Inverness donation drops $10,000 into Palatine Township fund for needy
An Inverness foundation has donated $10,000 to bolster a fund to help some Palatine Township residents facing a sudden crisis.
Township Supervisor Sharon Langlotz-Johnson said the one-time hefty donation came from Dodson Foundation Inc. Her announcement drew "oohs" as part of a surprised reaction from township officials at a meeting this week.
Langlotz-Johnson said the township typically does not receive contributions of $10,000 in one check.
"I say this over and over and over," she said after the donation was received Monday. "We have one of the most generous communities. We don't live in the Ritz. We've got people of all economic statuses (in Palatine Township), and it's amazing how generous everybody is."
Palatine Township's Needy Family Fund - formed as a nonprofit separate from government in 1995 - was the recipient of the Dodson Foundation contribution. To receive help from the fund, a township resident must show a valid reason for the assistance, including illness or layoff from employment, and a means to move forward.
"It could be someone who has a normal $50,000-a-year job and pays their bills, but all of a sudden got cancer and then doesn't have money to pay their bills," Langlotz-Johnson said.
"So, then we might help them with their mortgage or we help somebody fix their car."
Trustee Bill Pohlman said the Needy Family Fund is important because the township is restricted by state law on who can be helped through government general assistance for low-income residents.
As for the Dodson Foundation, the most recent available Internal Revenue Service records from 2015 show Journeys - The Way Home and Bridge Youth and Family Services have been among the Palatine-area nonprofit agencies to receive donations.
Mark Dodson, who runs the foundation started by his parents, said some homework was done before the township's fund was found worthy of the contribution. He said the foundation likes to give to local causes.
"There's a lot of people in need," Dodson said.
Langlotz-Johnson said the township's Needy Family Fund has strict criteria because it's meant to be a temporary solution.
"Our philosophy is to help them through this difficulty, promote positive thinking with a goal of no longer needing any assistance from any agency and able to live a good life productively," she said. "It doesn't always happen, but when it does, it is a huge success and there is one less person staying in the Medicaid-public-aid system for life, thereby many times ending a generational cycle."
IRS records show the Palatine Township Needy Family Fund had net assets or fund balances of $516,175 as of July.